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“Are we almost there, Daddy?” Maeve asked from her car seat, gazing out of the window at the road signs marking how far away they are from the dance academy. A mix of red and yellow bled across the sky, reflective of one of the paintings Will had been working on for his job.
“Close enough, Mae. See the street lamps coming on?” Will pointed out of the window near the sidewalks to the black lamps illuminating a golden light. “Count how many there are until we get there, like you did with the road signs.”
“That’ll be sure to make the trip faster. Besides, you need to have a clear mind for your recital tonight.” Mike highlighted, checking the last of his daughter’s bookbag full of costumes and makeup. Maeve shifted uncomfortably in her seat, remembering the very thing she was trying so hard to forget by counting the road signs in the first place.
“I know, Papa, I know.” she said quietly. Will stared at Maeve through the mirror, and immediately picks up on her anxiety.
“Maevey?” The little girl’s head popped up and immediately caught her father’s hazel eyes staring at her through the mirror. “It’s just a recital, honey. There’s nothing to worry about.” His eyes crinkled and an empathetic smile appeared on his face. Mike turned around in his seat.
“Yeah, kiddo. You know we always think highly of your dances no matter what happens. You’re going to be beautiful.” Mike smiled as well, and the empathy prompted Maeve to return a smile, one with no front teeth and shiny white babies. She pulled down a strand of her brown curly hair and twirls it around her finger for extra comfort.
A lovely night in December was declared the night for Maeve’s Christmas dance recital. Truth is, Will and Mike weren’t expecting the Youth Grand Prix or the Dance World Cup out of their daughter. She was only seven years old, after all. But Maeve had been stressed the entire week about the dances she was set to do, a group dance and a solo, a “big girl dance” as she called it. The guest room floor was riddled with scuffs from her dance shoes, pink with a blue heart on the straps. Her solo was what she had been stressed about as it was ballet, something she had never done before until her teacher decided it was her time. Maeve wanted to make her fathers proud, and that was what she was destined to do no matter what happened.
The grey car pulled into the academy’s parking lot and found a space close to the door. Maeve unbuckled herself and slid out of the car before her dads. “Maevey, no running!” Mike called after her, opening his door quickly and following after her.
“I don’t want to be late, Daddy!” Maeve responded, opening the big glass doors at the front and running inside.
“This girl…” Mike said under his breath, smiling. “Guess we’ll see what she's been stressed about all week.” Will closed the door to the backseat, following after him. Mike paused, “Is it really as bad as she’s making it out to be?” Will shook his head. “I doubt it. It’s not like we’re expecting her to be the next Alina Cojocaru or anything.” Mike nodded and walked alongside his husband to the door. A small white poster stuck on the door reads, “GRACE AND MOTION DANCE ACADEMY - ANNUAL WINTER FORMAL RECITAL - DECEMBER 24th, 2007 - 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.” Will checked his watch: 5:30 p.m. Not bad timing for a recital, right? He and Mike entered the receptionist hall and made their way down to where the changing rooms are. In front of one of the stalls was Maeve, talking to one of her dance buddies, Shannon. Shannon had on a dark blue dress with white chiffon that gave off the illusion of ripples in ocean water. A large white bow pulled back her black hair. They were talking about who their favorite Disney princesses were. Shannon’s mom, Mrs. Shelby stood from afar, watching to make sure they didn’t run off and mess their looks up before calling starts. She caught wind of Mike and Will, whom she both calls Mr. Byers-Wheeler, coming down the hallway, and she greeted them with a smile.
“Hello, guys!” she beamed, her chunky purple earrings jingling as she bounced when she walked.
“Hello to you, Carol!” Will stepped forward and immediately got to socializing with her.
Mike shot her a warm smile, and Mrs. Shelby shot one back. He took the opportunity to sneak away with his daughter and get her ready for her first act. Maeve took his hand and walked with him to a dressing room. Her costume was positioned neatly in a plastic bag, courtesy of the seamstresses at the academy who had spent a month carefully sewing together and detailing each small detail of her outfit. With her costume came a pair of white tights and a hairpiece to wear. She slipped on her dress and tights with ease and did a few necessary twirls in the mirror to make sure it was perfect.
“Are you almost done in there, Maevey?” Mike knocked on the door. “Ready, Daddy!” Maeve said. She unlocked the door and walked outside. “Oh my goodness!” Mike smiled, “Maevey, you look beautiful!” Maeve blushed at his complement and twirled around excitedly. Her dress was light purple with a dark purple underskirt and lilac-y short sleeves to match. Glittery golden stars ran diagonally across her midsection to her shoulder. A golden sash was tied to her waist. Her dress reminded Mike of a past thought, but he pushed it to the back of his mind to make space for his next objective: makeup. He took her to a table and chair near the exit and brought out a pallet from her bag.
Makeup had always been one of those things no one expected Mike to know how to do. He had learned how to do it pretty young after snooping around in Nancy’s room and getting into something he shouldn’t have. While he wasn’t Picasso or Van Gogh, he could pull off a decent look for his daughter. Maeve’s teacher had called for a purple and golden look to match her costume, so Mike went in with simple eyeshadows and a quiet lipstick.
“How do I look, Papa?” Maeve asked. Mike dug out a small compact mirror and gave it to her to use. Maeve turned her head sideways and smiled.
“You look beautiful, Maevey. You know that.” Mike said, packing up the rest of her things, “What’s this look for?”
“Enchantment. That solo I’ve been practicing for.” Maeve responded.
“Oh, you mean that solo that you got in trouble for staying up past your bedtime?” Mike added, which caused Maeve to narrow her eyebrows and cross her arms. Maeve had gotten herself in trouble with Will a couple of times in the month for staying up late at night to practice her dance. He wasn’t mad at her for dancing, but more concerned for her pushing herself too hard just for a measly dance. He had advised her to chill out and sent her to bed early that following morning just for precaution.
“Yeah, that solo.” Maeve frowned. Mike pulled out a brush and a hair tie and started on her hair. He pulled it into a simple bun and clipped in the hairpiece that came with her costume. A purple clip with shiny golden stars on the top. It glimmered in the studio lights, similar to her costume. “You know Papa wasn’t mad at you. He was just worried you were overexerting yourself.” Mike said, putting away the hair items, zipping up her bag, and stuffing it in a nearby corner with everyone else’s bags. “Are you ready to go?” Mike asked, turning back to Maeve, who was now sitting quietly at the table. She nodded without looking at him. Mike put his hands on his hips. “Maeve Marie…” he started, and Maeve looked up at him. Whenever Mike said her full name, she knew she was in to suffer through another confidence talk. “You’re gonna do great out there. Whatever you do, Papa and I are gonna be proud of you. You’re Maeve the Majestic. You’re an amazing dancer. If you get scared, remember that you’re doing better than you think you are.” Mike smiled, patting her on the head. Maeve nodded and smiled back.
One of the traits he loved about her was her smile. She looked more like her Papa in the face with her light green eyes and pointy nose, but her face scrunched up in the same way that Mike’s did when he was her age. Her smile brought out her freckles as well. Mike’s had faded over the years, but the specks on her face had made her the female version of her Daddy.
Almost on cue, Shannon appeared from around the corner of the doorway and beckoned Maeve to come with her. “Come on, Maeve! It’s almost call time!” she exclaimed, and Maeve got up from her spot at the table. Mike gave her a “run along” stare and the two girls disappeared from the room to the stage. Mike started down the hallway to the auditorium. A young girl passing out booklets with the dance order handed one to him. On the front were cut-out pictures of a couple of dancers from the academy in winter-themed costumes. White snowflakes clouded around the title of the recital. Mike flipped to the first page where the solos were listed. Tenth place read, “Maeve Byers-Wheeler ~ Ballet Solo ~ ‘Enchantment’”. He closed the book and went to find where his husband was seated. Will turned around and gave a wave from near the front row, where Mrs. Shelby was seated alongside them. Mike shuffled in front of bent legs and took a seat near his husband.
“Are you ready to see her?” Will whispered.
“I’m ready for this thing to start. Supposed to last three hours straight, right?” Mike chuckled.
“Yeah.”
“Three hours away from my sons. Feels like a dream not having to yell at them for almost putting a hole in my walls,” Mrs. Shelby laughed. Maeve was Will and Mike’s only kid, but Will laughed anyway, as roughhousing with Jonathan earlier left one too many dents in doors and too much gray sprouting from Joyce’s scalp.
After their exchange, the giant red curtains pulled back to reveal the stage, glimmering from the shiny lights. Ms. White, the studio director, stood in the middle of the floor, wearing an elegant light blue dress with a string of pearls around her neck. Her brown skin shone in the red and blue lights and her black curly hair was pulled into a bun. She held a black microphone in her hand. A wave of applause erupted from the crowd, and she accepted it with rosy cheeks before shushing everyone to speak.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us on this beautiful Christmas Eve for our annual dance recital,” she paused for effect before continuing,
“Our dancers at Grace and Motion have been working their hardest this year to bring you the dances they will be performing tonight. A special thanks to all of our amazing teachers, staff, and families for the endless support. Tonight is not just about pirouettes or arabesques or pliés, no, tonight is about the soul and passion these kids hold for the art of dancing. I couldn’t be more proud of them. We hope this recital is the best early Christmas present you can receive. Thank you, and let us welcome our dancers to the stage!”
Ms. White gave a bow and walked off stage, her white heels clicking against the floor. The lights dimmed, and the stage lights moved slowly to the center. Ms. White’s voice came on over the speakers, clearly reading off a sheet of paper.
“Our first dancer of the night is Shannon Shelby, performing a contemporary solo entitled, ‘Mermaid’.”
Shannon strolled on stage in a bedazzled blue leotard with a sarong to match. Purple and pink crystals were glued to her face that gave off the illusion of scales. Mrs. Shelby gave her loudest cheers to her daughter, much to Mike’s dismay, directly into his ear. Her song was beautiful, a mix of mallet instruments and violins that sounded like a siren’s voice. Same as her song, Shannon moved beautifully, her turns perfect and moves sharp. By the time her dance was finished, the audience had already been clapping for her.
“Let’s give Shannon a round of applause for setting the stage tonight! What a mermaid!” The girl bowed to the audience and walked off stage to the right.
The next couple of dancers took after Shannon and lit the stage on fire. Acrobatics and pirouettes and arabesques made the crowd cheer louder for each dancer. One of the male soloists had even got the crowd to clap to his music. Finally, it came time for Maeve to dance.
“Please welcome to the stage Maeve Wheeler with a ballet solo titled, “Enchantment”.
A sea of cheers echoed through the auditorium, and the small girl walked slowly to the middle of the stage. Her pink flats tapped against the floor. Mike sat up to watch while Will flipped on the camcorder he had in his lap. The piano started with a light tune, and Maeve jumped into her moves.
“This is adorable!” Will whispered to Mike, who sat as still as a statue watching his daughter. The way her costume flowed along with her gracefulness made it look as if a purple aura was following behind. The beauty of Maeve’s ballet reminded Mike of the thing he couldn’t identify before.
The memory came to him quickly. A simple memory, when times were easier for him.
One weekend, Will had shown up to a D&D game with something new to wear to resemble the noble Will The Wise, the character he created to reflect himself as a smart wizard. Joyce had spent her free time that month sewing him his fancy costume, and every day Will would patiently observe her weaving her fingers in and out, fastening the reflective stars to the fabric, cutting out the bodice and marking where to cut. When he put it on and showed it to the boys, they were ecstatic with how it looked. Dustin and Lucas were obsessed with the look, asking him to twirl around a thousand times and trying on the hat for themselves. But Mike’s reaction was different. For a second, the way boys their age reacted to girls they liked, Mike reacted that way to Will. Something about the way the purple contrasted with the ivory color of his skin and hazel eyes made him think Will was…beautiful. They ran around Mike’s backyard, casting imaginary wizard spells and daydreaming of slaying fire-breathing dragons, being fearless warriors who returned to their village wearing their hearts on their sleeves. They acted until they tired each other out and collapsed in the basement, sleeping in piles of blankets stacked together to create a makeshift mattress.
Childhood was so easy for the two of them. Their imagination freed them from bullying, from offhanded comments, it freed them from Hawkins. For that one day, being Will the Wise and Mike the Brave was the freest they had ever been.
“Mike?”
The piano came to a crescendo, strumming high keys to produce a beautiful melody. Maeve took a big leap into the air.
“Michael?”
She touched the ground to end her dance. She was breathing hard, but it was drowned out by the wave of cheers from the audience. Maeve marveled in the admiration, and she felt like she could go to the Grand Prix and win first place in that moment.
“Michael!” Will puts his hand on his husband’s shoulder. Mike turns to him, snapping out of his dissociation. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” Mike blinks, “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You’re crying over there.” Will moves his hand to his hair.
Mike nods, “I’m fine, Will, really.” He offers a cheeky smile, and Will returns it.
Maeve moved into a traditional révérence, facing the audience and giving a polite curtsy. She caught her parents’ eyes in the front row, and she blushed at the attention she was receiving. “Go, Maevey!!!” Mike suddenly exclaimed, standing up and wooing for her, which alarmed the people sitting around him. Will stood up with him, joining in and completing their “obnoxious father” duo. Maeve hurried off stage to escape her fathers, and the two of them got up from their seats to go meet her in the hallways.
Mike brought his hands to his face to wipe away his tears, and he hadn’t realized how much he had been crying until he felt that the wetness had run down to his chin. He wiped his face with his sweater sleeve.
“Yeah,” Will laughed, noticing Mike trying to get rid of the evidence, “I just look over, and you’re suddenly emotional. I thought something had happened, so I asked.”
“She was just so beautiful up there, Will. And that costume…it made her look like a doll. I loved it.” Mike said. Will nodded. He thought Maeve looked beautiful too.
They rounded the corner and saw her and Shannon hugging each other, fangirling over each other’s dances. Maeve had already taken her hair down, and Shannon had done her best to scrub off her makeup. “You looked so amazing, like a real-life mermaid!” “No, you looked amazing! It was like watching Natalia Ospiva!” Maeve heard the approaching footsteps and turned around to see her dads coming. Shannon walked away to the dressing rooms to give the three of them a moment to themselves.
“Papa!” she ran to Will first, and he scooped her up into his arms. “Did you like my dance, Papa?”
“You were marvelous, Maevey! Absolutely marvelous!” Will beamed. Maeve’s eyes lit up, and she rested her head on her dad’s shoulder. Mike stood next to them and ran his fingers through her hair, feeling her curls wrap around his fingers.
“Daddy!” Maeve smiled. She motioned for Will to pass her off to her other father, and Will obliged. “I did it, Daddy, I did it! I was Maeve the Majestic! Did you see me?” Mike smiled and made a “mm-hmm” sound. The little girl noticed her father’s puffy eyes and red nose, and she raised her eyebrows slightly.
“Are you alright? Why are you sad?” She cupped his face and kissed his nose.
“Yes, Maeve, I’m alright. You just danced so beautifully, it made me cry. That’s all.” Mike reassured her. Maeve hugged him, and Mike hugged her tighter. Will joined in, and the three of them stood in the quiet hallway, basking in the moment.
Mike had both Will the Wise and Maeve the Majestic holding him close, and he couldn’t have been happier. This was the best early Christmas present he could have received.